


Alex Danvers, Supermom

by Peggystormborn



Series: Every Time...A Karamel Anthology [11]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Adoption, Canon compliant through end of season 3, Children with Superpowers, F/M, Karamel spent 10 years in the future then came back with their kids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-09
Updated: 2018-10-09
Packaged: 2019-07-28 15:34:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16244609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peggystormborn/pseuds/Peggystormborn
Summary: Alien invasions, evil Kryptonians, all manner of threats to National City. Alex Danvers can handle anything, right?But when a very special little boy comes into her life, suddenly all bets are off. Can she really parent a superpowered child?





	Alex Danvers, Supermom

**Author's Note:**

> Ok sorry this has taken me so long, I got a little writer's block with this one. And, you know, busy. 
> 
> Alex is a mom guys! I really hope the show does a good job with her adoption journey. I've been down that road myself and it's very very difficult. 
> 
> Also I know this isn't really Karamel focused but they're in the mix!
> 
> Anyway enjoy!

Alex Danvers, Supermom

“It's a lot,” Kara says to her sister.

“It is,” Alex replies.

“Wow. How many different background checks do they need?”

“Three. I think. Plus fingerprinting, letters of reference, medical records, financial statements, birth certificate, insurance, a copy of my will, the list goes on.”

They're on Alex's couch, baby John toddling back and forth up and down the hall to Alex's bedroom as they chat over the many documents she'd has had to compile as part of her adoption journey. Her new place has two bedrooms, more or less a necessity to be considered for parenthood. Especially as a single mom. She worries. She's not trying for an infant, for a couple of reasons. One, it's likely to take years to be chosen that way, and married couples are usually preferred by birth mothers. Second, she thinks about Kara, about how scared and alone she was when she came to Earth, and how desperately she needed a family. She gets a warm glow thinking about how she might be able to give that kind of comfort and stability to another child. She's well aware it can be a difficult road, depending on what happened in the child's past that caused the separation from their birth family, but she feels prepared to meet the challenge. She hopes, anyway. Though she gets more than a few butterflies just thinking about it.

“Holy crap. And to think I got four of these things and all I had to do was bang my husband,” Kara blurts.

Alex cringes. “Thanks for that.”

“You're welcome. So do you have it all together?”

“Most of it. But I still have to get through the visit from the home study agency.”

“...Which is different from the adoption agency…”

“Yup.”

“I had no idea this was so complicated. Did Eliza and Jeremiah go through this to adopt me?”

“Honestly, I'm not sure. I kind of suspect Superman greased the wheels a bit. And the DEO had a hand, too, putting your fake identity together.”

“Oh, right. Don't I have a doctored birth certificate somewhere with a made-up name on it?”

“Kara Jean Blattmeyer, born in Wisconsin in 1991.”

“Blattmeyer? Yuck. Yet another reason I'm glad I became a Danvers.”

“Me, too. Before you came here it was just the three of us. And now there's you, and Mon-El, and the kids too. Whole lotta Danverses. You know, maybe it's silly, but I love that you guys all share our name.”

“It was either that or use Mon-El's fake Earth name. And he wasn't particularly attached to Matthews. Plus, honestly, I think he was excited to feel officially part of our family. He was pretty alone growing up except for his governess.”

“Yeah, his parents were…not exactly warm.”

“No, they were definitely not.”

“I think Mom and Dad are really glad to see the family name passed on, at any rate. Dad’s old-fashioned that way.”

“Have you talked to them? About adopting?”

“They're supportive, more or less. Mom told me to be ready to roll with the punches. Although...she had this look when I told her…the same one she got when she found out I was working for the DEO. That thing she does where she's anxious but she comes across as irritated. And Dad was a little weird about it, too.”

“Why? You don't...think they were hoping you'd have biological children instead, do you?” Alex can see Kara's childhood insecurities start to bleed through, despite her age and the fact that she herself is a mother four times over.

“What? No, Kara, don't be ridiculous. They of all people know blood doesn't make a family. How did you put it that time? Love binds us all?”

“No, God, of course. You're right, I don't know why that popped into my head. Sorry, I guess there's just that tiny part of me that remembers how long it took and how hard it was to feel like one of you.”

“Well, good thing I have you to help me understand better what this kid’s needs are.”

“You should tell the agency that when they do the home study.”

“I don't think that's the kind of thing they're looking for, but maybe I'll sneak it in somewhere. Maybe it'll hide the fact that this is totally terrifying.”

“...Maybe that's why Mom and Dad have reservations.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just that…this is going to be a lot of work for you by yourself. Of course, you'll have me and Mon-El and J'onn and Winn and…you know, everybody. But we won't be there when this kid has a bad dream in the middle of the night, or gets into a fight at school, or asks tough questions about their birth family. That'll be all you.”

“I…I know. But people do this, right? I mean I'm certainly not going to be the only single parent in the world.”

“No, but you might turn out to be the best one.” Kara winks at her sister as Alex rolls her eyes. “Just…be prepared. Being on your own means never getting a break. No one to relieve you when things get overwhelming.”

“Mom did it. For years. With two of us.”

“Yeah, exactly. She knows what it's like.”

“...Right.” Alex's shoulders sag a bit. It's true, her mother is the type that always makes it all look effortless, even things that in actuality are really very difficult. She makes a mental note to buy her mom something extra nice for Mother's Day.

Alex's phone rings, and she reluctantly grabs it, loath to interrupt the conversation with her sister.

“Uh, oh. I better take this.”

“DEO?”

“No, it's...President Marsden.”

Kara's eyes go wide as Alex picks up.

“Danvers. Yes, I'll hold…Madam President, good afternoon…uh, yes, I can meet you. Now? _Right_ now? I mean, I can ask Supergirl to fly me there if it's urgent…wait, what do you mean you're not in DC…? You're...WHERE?!”

********

Alex and Kara arrive at the site, baby John in tow. Normally they would have stopped to drop him with Mon-El or his grandparents or at the DEO day care, but Marsden had said she'd prefer they come immediately and that it was fine to bring him along.

And so they stand at an old rusty gate in the Arizona desert looking at a worn, beaten up sign, hanging on for dear life from a single bolt attached to a weathered chain link fence. Barely visible on the metal sign in cracked paint are the words AREA 51.

“This can't be…” starts Kara.

“It is,” Alex finishes.

“Isn't this the place where they…you know what? I'm not even gonna ask. Don't want to know.”

“Probably for the best.”

“Well, now what? All I see is this fence, a few broken down old buildings and what's left of an army Jeep over there.” Kara glances at the remains of a green vehicle, tires long gone, windshield broken, interior rotten and covered in dust. There's no cell service, no human activity visible anywhere.

“I'm not sure. I guess…wait?”

They tool around for a few minutes as Kara tries to keep John from getting too fussy. Just when they're about to give up and leave, Kara hears a whirring sound. A moment later, a nearby patch of dirt begins to shake and rise from the ground, revealing a hidden elevator. A soldier in dress blues and a bespectacled woman in a red pantsuit emerge from the contraption and approach them.

“Supergirl. Director Danvers. Pleasure to meet you. If you'll follow me, please. The President is waiting.”

Kara looks at Alex, somewhat wary at the prospect of descending into an unknown underground facility with two strangers while holding her youngest child--at a place where aliens may or may not have been subjected to horrific scientific experimentation. But Alex gives her a muted smile, rubs her lower back a little, reassuringly, and they march toward the lift. Marsden after all is an alien herself, and she wouldn't have brought them out here without a good reason.

When they emerge good knows how many feet below, they are let into a white room.

“Wait here, please,” says the woman, who has still not told them her name or title. She departs with the soldier, leaving them alone for a few minutes. Kara starts to worry that John is getting hungry and will probably need a diaper change soon. The last thing she wants is for the President to walk in on her dealing with _that_.

But, without further ado, Marsden strides in, heels clacking, flanked by the red-clad assistant, a cadre of men and women in uniform, and a handful of people in white lab coats. Kara balks at the sudden influx of strangers. The marriage between Supergirl and Valor is a tightly-kept secret, as is the existence of their children. Kara clutches John and steps back instinctively.

Reading her protective stance, Marsden rushes to reassure the two younger women. “Good afternoon, ladies. It's wonderful to see you. Don't worry, Supergirl, everyone here has top level clearances. Your secrets are safe here.”

“Uh, thank you…for that,” Kara starts. “And it's very nice to see you as well, Madam President, but umm...why exactly are we here?”

“Director Danvers, do you recall the conversation we had when I agreed to pardon your father for his crimes?”

Alex gulps audibly. “...Yes, Madam President. And thank you again for…”

“...Then you'll remember his freedom is conditional.”

“Yes, you…you said I owed you a favor.”

“Indeed. Well, Director, today I come to collect.”

Alex takes a deep breath and steps forward, Kara looking on with a mixture of curiousity and concern.

“Why do you need me to do?”

“I understand you have been working with an adoption agency.”

Alex and Kara's twin faces of concern morph into looks of bewilderment.

“Yes, that's correct.”

“And you've indicated you'd be willing to parent an older child? Even one who's been through some traumatic circumstances?”

“Well, yes, I feel equipped to do that considering my family history.”

“Indeed. Well, Director Danvers--Alex--I've been made aware of a situation that I hoped you might be able to help with. There's a child here. His name is Conner. And he's in need of a home. Follow me, please.” Alex's eyes go wide as an owl as the President turns on her heels and quick-walks towards a nearby door.

They trail behind her into the next room, trading excited, nervous glances. There's a glass wall ahead of them, and on the other side a little boy with a mop of Chestnut curls who appears to be perhaps five or six, no older than Kara's eldest daughter Allie. He's playing on the floor with Legos, and around the room various other playthings are strewn about, most of them broken or crushed.

“We liberated him from a Cadmus-run facility outside Keystone City. He had a small group of caretakers, but they fled when the FBI stormed their compound. They're currently at large.”

“What about his parents?” Alex asks.

“He doesn't have parents, perse. His DNA was cobbled together from various sources. Mostly human. But also Phorian, Almeracian, Valeronian, and, well, Kryptonian.”

“Wait, wait…how did they get Kryptonian DNA?” Kara asks, alarmed.

“From you, Supergirl. When they took your blood.”

Kara turns pale. “Wait, wait. So he's partly MY child? But that was only like three years ago. This child appears to be Kindergarten-aged.”

“Almeracians develop quickly at this age, which explains his accelerated growth. But developmentally he's relatively equivalent to a human child. In fact, he's quite intelligent compared to Earth children at this stage of growth. Probably thanks to your genetic influence. I understand your little ones are also quite advanced.”

Kara chokes up a bit at this revelation. “I…I had no idea. I could never have imagined Lillian would do this. I mean, why? She hates aliens. I would have thought she'd be horrified by the idea of us procreating with humans.”

“Your powers. She wanted to create humans with powers. She probably thought she could use them against you. I mean she certainly had no problem using alien technology. This is really just an extension of that,” Alex surmises.

“That’s our assessment as well,” Marsden continues. “We're talking only small amounts of genetic code, as much as you might share with a distant cousin. Just the genes responsible for making you strong and invulnerable. At least those are the only traits he's exhibited so far. 90% of his DNA is human-derived. Though we also believe the human subjects used were metahumans. But most of those records were destroyed before the agents that infiltrated the compound were able to secure them. So, we have some pieces of the puzzle missing.”

“So you…want me to adopt him?” Alex asks, a little timidly.

“It's a big decision, I know. We're talking about a child with unknown abilities. He may have special needs. He may never be able to go to a regular school or fully integrate with society. But he needs a home. A real home, not as a test subject in a laboratory somewhere. I'm sad to say he's already been here a few weeks, and without my intervention I suspect he would never have set foot outside this facility. I was only briefed about his existence this morning, and I immediately thought of you. This child…he's been through so much. He's never had a mother. Would you consider it?”

“Wait, wait…” Kara butts in. “You say some of my DNA was used to create him? Even if he's only a small fraction Kryptonian, isn't he my responsibility? Especially if he has powers.”

“Supergirl, I understand your wanting to take care of him given the circumstances, and I'll defer to whatever the two of you decide. But we have to think about what's best for him. You have four children of your own, and with all due respect, I imagine he will almost certainly need more attention than you may be able to give right now.”

Kara exhales and nods, knowing the President is right. She and Mon-El are already stretched so thin with their own kids, and their careers, and being heroes. She recalls Clark's explanation to her when she arrived on Earth that although they would always be family, he knew in his heart that the best place for her was with the Danverses. And he was right. For all the times she missed him, wishing she could be up there flying with him and making the world a better place, she knows ultimately he did the right thing by giving her up. No. Scratch that. He didn't give her up. He gave her a chance at a real life. A real home.

She glances at her sister, trying to read Alex's face, though she doesn't have a good view of it right now, obscured as it is by the locks of red hair cascading over her sister's cheek. Maybe this is fate? Maybe this is the child Alex has been waiting for, as he has been waiting for her to be his mother?

Alex has been standing perfectly still since this conversation began, staring at Conner through the glass. When she turns around at last, pushing her dark red tresses behind her ear, Kara sees that tears have been streaming down her face.

“How soon can I take my son home?” she asks, voice cracking.

“Whenever you like, Director. Would you care to go in and meet him?”

Alex nods and attempts to clean the wetness from her face as she readies herself to meet Conner.

She looks at Kara, shaking like a leaf. “Tell me I'm ready for this,” she demands of her sister, voice cracking.

“You're ready,” Kara says. She knows it's not precisely the truth. No one is ever really ready to become a parent. _She'll do what I did,_ Kara thinks. _Take the plunge and do her best, and one way or another, everything will turn out okay._

Hesitantly, Alex enters the room where Conner has been playing. He doesn't look up, but continues building what appears to be a large symmetrical tower out of Legos.

“Hi, Conner. My name is Alex. Can I play with you?”

The child looks up, and his piercing blue eyes almost bowl her over. Just like Kara's. What's that Mon-El always calls them? _Comets_.

“Sure, if you want. I'm just about to put the fins on.”

“Fins? Are we making a fish? Or a whale?” Alex looks at the multicolored brick construction in front of her, trying to visualize the end result. Now that she's looking at it, she can see it isn't quite a tower as she originally thought.

“No, silly. It's a spaceship.”

Alex stops and realizes he's right. She can see the outline of a cockpit, the aerodynamic body, the conical prow.

“Space is pretty cool, huh? You know, I went to another planet once.”

“Wow, really? Was it pretty?”

“Not really, it was mostly a bunch of rocks. But my sister has been to like 30 planets and some of them are really really beautiful. Or so she says.”

“I wish I could go. The people who used to take care of me said I got made from some people who are from outer space. I'd like to see those places. And I'd really like to ride in a spaceship!”

“I've been in a couple of those, too. I mean, not any as awesome as this one. And they didn't go very far. But hey, maybe someday we can find some way to take a ride together. How does that sound?”

“Sounds great! Do any of the planets not have a yellow sun?”

Alex's brow crinkles. “Um, yes, actually. Why do you ask?”

“Someone told me I'm stronger than I'm supposed to be because of the color of the sun. That's why I keep breaking my toys.” He points at a graveyard of discarded, mangled, brightly-colored plastic. To be fair, it looks to Alex like a bunch of cheap crap from the dollar store. Guess no one thought it worth the money to get him anything more durable.

“Well, that's partly true. You have certain powers, you understand that, right?”

“Yes. I'm strong. And fast.”

“Those powers might grow as you get older. And you may have other abilities, too. Ones we don't know about yet.”

“Like what?”

“I'm not sure. But maybe we can find out together.”

The boy shrugs, good-naturedly. “Maybe.”

“Conner, would you…like to come live with me? I know we don't know each other very we…”

“Okay,” Conner interrupts.

“Okay? Just like that?”

“Yeah, you seem nice. Nicer than the other people.”

“Well, I also know a lot of people like you. People with abilities. People who come from other planets. And I think I might be able to help you sort out your powers and have a more normal life. Meet other kids. Some kids like you, actually.”

“Really?” Conner looks at her, halfway between bewildered and awestruck. “I can go play with other kids?”

It dawns on Alex he's probably never even seen another child, let alone gone on a playdate. He's excited, not to meet other children who have powers, but to meet other children _at all_. She gulps down the lump of grief she now has for this little boy, for all he's probably already missed out on on his short life. She vows he'll never have to be alone like that ever again.

“Yes. But first let's get you settled in your new home.”

They pack up Conner's meager assortment of clothes and toys, and Marsden and her staff escort all of them to an armed transport that will bring them back to National City. Kara, bursting to tell her husband the news, flies straight home with John. But not before introducing Conner to his baby cousin. The sisters light up with joy, and Kara thinks about being a small child meeting Kal-El for the first time. How squirmy and pudgy he was. John is a toddler now, older than Kal was when he left Krypton, Conner much younger than Kara was when Kal was born. But she still sees herself in the young boy, and not just because of his blue eyes that match those of her and her children. She sees in him the nervous hesitation and the gleeful excitement of observing a baby for the first time. She'd never gotten to hold one before Kal, having no younger siblings of her own. She hopes to Rao that Conner and her kids will be close as they grow up together.

A few hours later, Alex finds herself alone in her new apartment with her new son. She managed to call ahead to J'onn while they were en route home and he and Winn happily procured a child-sized bed, sheets and a comforter for Conner, along with a dresser and toy box. The room is already set up when they arrive, and Alex lets out a small sigh of disappointment at having missed the certain hilarity of watching J'onn and Winn assembling Swedish particle board furniture with an Allen wrench.

Of course, now they're here. Alone. In the apartment…

 _OH, CRAP…NOW WHAT?_ She thinks. Should she let him watch TV? No, that seems like lazy parenting. Don't want to get off on the wrong foot. Read him a story, maybe?

She suddenly hears a growling noise coming from the vicinity of his stomach. _Oh, God, I've been his mother for 6 hours and I've already neglected to feed him..._

“Conner, do you like pizza?”

“Is that the triangle shaped stuff with the red circles on it?”

“Uh, sure, if you like pepperoni.”

“Yeah, I had that a few times. I liked it a lot.”

“Okay, then. Red circles it is.”

She orders way too much pizza, figuring anything left over she can give to her alien sister and brother in law and their ever-ravenous little brood. They talk, and she tries to get a sense of what he might have been through without being too pushy. Best she can tell, his caretakers didn't hit him, but he was left alone far too often. He was given food and drink, and playthings, and clothing, but no one was ever any real kind of parent to him. They rotated caring for him as though it were some kind of chore. Alex scoffs at the idea. How could anyone find this child to be a burden? He's wonderfully sweet and kind. Whip-smart and imaginative.

It's a miracle he seems as normal as he does. Alex wonders, though, if there's something she's missing here. As chatty as this child is, she suspects there's some things he's just not ready to tell her, maybe things he doesn't know about himself. She just can't shake the feeling that there's another shoe waiting to drop.

When he starts to yawn after practically inhaling half a large pizza, she gets him ready for bed. He doesn't have much in the way of sleepwear, except a threadbare pair of Ninja Turtle jammies. So she dresses him in them, smiling wistfully.

“Tomorrow, we'll go out shopping and but you some brand new clothes, shoes, and maybe a few toys.”

He shrugs at the idea. “That's okay. I don't want to have too much stuff to bring with to my next place.”

“Next place?”

“Yeah, after here.”

“No, no, Conner, there is no next place. This is your home now. With me. I'm…I'm going to be your mother now, if that's okay with you. I'm going to take care of you. Always. I won't leave, I won't give you away. I promise.”

The child nods slowly, but with an air of skepticism. As if to say _I'll believe it when I see it._

He looks around at the colorful furniture and bedding, with detached curiosity. “The room is nice. Much nicer than my last one. It was cold in that one. Alex gets a slight chill at his tone, and his description of his former living quarters.

“It was?”

“Yeah, not comfy like this one.”

“What was it like?” Alex tries her best to encourage him to speak up about his past, but she doesn't wish to push him if he's not ready. She really hopes she's doing this right.

“It was metal. And long. And had doors on one end.”

“Metal? You had a metal room?”

“Yeah, but sometimes if they left the doors open a crack and I could look through and see the stars.”

Metal…oblong…doors that open to the outdoors…

To her horror, Alex realizes he's describing a shipping container. Why on Earth were they making him sleep in a shipping container? All alone? Perhaps they were transporting him around regularly? Poor thing.

At length, she pulls herself together. “Well, now you have a window to see stars through. And four real walls, and a proper bed right down the hall from my room. Okay?”

“Okay.” She sees his eyes are drooping, so she tucks him in, reads him a story, and kisses him goodnight.

She lies awake for a while, second-guessing every single decision she's made today, except the choice to mother this child. That she's still quite sure about.

_Did I feed him enough? Did I let him stay up too long? Did I say the right things? Should I have let him sleep in my room? Did I do everything wrong?_

Finally, after an hour or two of anxiously tossing and turning, she falls asleep.

She wakes up, at some ungodly hour, to the sound of rumbling, and a loud crash. Her door bursts open, a blast of wind coming from down the hall.

“What the HELL?!” She jumps out of bed and runs to Conner's room. She sees his body, levitated above the bed, toys and clothes swirling around him. The dresser has toppled over, drawers flung out to join the tornado of debris.

“Conner!” she yells, to no avail. She realizes he's still asleep. _Oh God_ , she thinks. _I have to stop this before he gets hurt!_

She fights her way through the maelstrom and lunges for his tiny body, dragging him back down to the bed. The impact with the mattress is enough to rouse him from his slumber, and his little blue eyes pop open and connect with Alex's.

“Are you okay?” she asks, examining him with her hands. “Are you hurt?”

He rubs his eyes and blinks a few times. “I think I had a bad dream. I was running…and something was chasing me…and…”

“Shhhh…” Alex coos, holding him tight, trying to keep him from getting worked up. “It's okay. You're safe.”

She hopes that's true. She looks around the room at the crayons now embedded in the wall, one of the drawers broken into splinters on the floor, the window facing out into the starry night now shattered as the curtains flutter gently in the open air. _Bye-bye security deposit,_ she thinks.

“What happened?” Conner asks as he looks around at the mess everywhere. “Did…did I do that?” He starts to pant in distress.

“Ye…no. Maybe. Honestly, I'm not sure what this is, but we're going to figure it out together, okay?”

Conner's breathing starts to normalize as he nods and buries his face in Alex's shoulder. She gets into his little bed with him, under his Minions-themed comforter, and holds him close as he drifts back off to sleep.

She's just about to nod off, too, despite the discomfort of being crammed into a bed far too small for her size, when it hits her:

_This is why they kept him in a shipping container._

Her son is not only strong, and fast, but telekinetic as well, likely thanks to some of the metahuman DNA in his code.

 _Jesus,_ she thinks. _What if I can't handle this?_

*******

“I still can't believe it,” Mon-El remarks to Kara as he watches the children in their backyard playing with their new cousin. Allie in particular had nearly lost her little mind at the idea of having a playmate in the  family more or less her age, and one with powers no less. Kara and Mon-El could practically see the little cogs in her brain spinning at the thought of all the mischief they might get into together. Mon-El, for his part, had been just as thrilled as Kara, smiling and literally jumping for joy when his wife flew in from the desert, babe in arms, gushing with the news of their family's new addition. He'd asked her about a thousand questions, most of which she didn't know the answers to, about Conner and how he'd come into Alex's care. And Kara just about fell in love with him all over again when he actually teared up contemplating her beloved sister's happiness. Through all these years, he and Alex had forged their own bond of siblinghood, and he'd been just as anxious as Kara to see the elder Danvers sister's dreams come true. Though he'd had the same concerns as his wife initially, wondering about the child's genetic relationship to Kara and whether their own home might actually be the right place for him. In the end, though, Kara convinced him that this was the best possible situation for the child, and that they would do their part to support this new family as best they could.

“I know, right? It was sudden, and unexpected, but I really think it's Rao’s will they be together.”

“I kind of think you might be right about that. Also, um, did you seriously take our son to Area 51?”

“I didn't know what it was when they sent us the coordinates. I'm trying not to think about it.”

“Yeesh. Okay. Anyway, the kids seem to be getting along.”

“So far, yeah. Alex seems kind of frazzled, though. I don't think she's been sleeping, she's so worried he's going to have another episode.” Mon-El nods empathetically, knowing something about the struggles of raising superpowered children. Alex had called them in a panic the next morning to tell them what had happened, and they'd talked her down with cutesy stories about Allie, the twins, and even baby John exhibiting their powers at unfortunate moments. And Kara reminded Alex that Clark's parents, Jonathan and Martha, raised him as humans, without even knowing where he'd come from or what to expect as he grew up. Kara suggested they find some time to visit Smallville and ask Martha's guidance, to help ease Alex's mind.

Secretly, though, Kara worries. Alex is doing this alone, in an apartment in a densely populated City. And who knows what other powers the boy might manifest? What if he can make fire or ice? Or access pocket dimensions? Or turn invisible? Or any of a hundred other powers they'd come up against in metas and aliens they'd encountered? If he's exhibiting them in his sleep without even realizing, that could be very dangerous.

Alex emerges from the guest bedroom, groggy from a much-needed nap.

“Is he okay out there?” She asks.

“Yeah. Eltro is watching them all. I think Conner has taken a shine to him.” Kara replies, as Mon-El beams. His brother has had a way with their offspring ever since he arrived here, despite having exactly zero experience being around children. There's just something about him that kids gravitate towards. He'd taken the portal from Mars when they sent him word about the new addition to the family. Although he wasn't as close with Alex as Kara and Mon-El, he had become deeply attached to the littlest Danverses and couldn't pass up an opportunity to bond with another one.

“Oh, and Clark is stopping by, too.” Mon-El adds. “He called a little while ago.”

“Thanks, guys. I needed the rest.”

“Are you...okay?” Kara asks.

“Honestly? I don't know. I just sometimes feel like I'm not enough for him.”

“Alex, that’s not true. I know it hasn't been that long but from what I've seen you're great with him.”

“Really? Because I have no idea what I'm doing. Like, none. At all. Everything feels like a mistake. And it's so not...me. You know? I'm used to being good at things, being confident. I can make decisions in a crisis and kick bad guy ass when needed, and I run an entire governmental organization, for God's sake. But this? I'm just wandering in the dark here.”

“Alex?” Mon-El starts. “I'm gonna let you in on a little secret. All parents feel that way. Constantly.”

“What do you mean?” the redhead responds. “You guys are amazing at this! This house runs like clockwork! Your kids are thriving! Seriously, you two are a well-oiled parenting machine!”

The alien couple look at each other, blink, and burst into laughter.

“Alex, we've just had more practice keeping it all together than you have. But it's a daily struggle. You missed the early days when we were in the future. All the sleepless nights and 3am arguments over how to get them to stop crying.” Kara reassures her sister.

“Not to mention the many, many messes to clean up and broken things to fix. Gods, remember the fractured air lock?” Mon-El adds.

“How could I forget? Rao, what a disaster that was. Imra and Garth were SO pissed.”

Alex smiles at the story, at the empathy. Her unease lightens a little, but her heart is still heavy.

“I guess I just expected to have more of a knack for this. Maybe I expected too much. I also…well…” she trails off.

“What? What is it?” Kara grabs her sister's hand lovingly.

“I know it's silly, but I always imagined a little girl. You know? I planned out things I would do with her, things I would teach her. I just...I have no idea what to do with a boy.”

Kara laughs even harder, until tears start to form in the corners of her eyes. “Oh, man! It's like middle school all over again!”

“Ha, ha, cute,” Alex deadpans. “Honestly, though. It's just...overwhelming.”

“It'll get easier. You'll figure each other out.”

“I hope so. Let me go check on him.”

The new mom opens the back door and steps out into the yard, where she's immediately assailed by the sound of giggling and shouting. She sees Allie running with Xander and Zora, playing tag.

“Allie? Where's Conner?” she asks the eldest Danvers child.

“On the swingset with Uncle Elt.”

Alex looks over and sees her son with Mon-El’s twin brother. They're side by side on a swing, facing away from her. She approaches from behind, quietly, and listens to their conversation.

“Gosh, I guess I've been to about, 15 planets? Maybe? Not as many as your Aunt and Uncle, I think,” Eltro says, glancing up in contemplation.

“I wish I could go. I don't really feel like I fit in here,” Conner replies.

“Here on Earth, you mean?”

“Yeah. The people I lived with before said I'm part alien. Maybe I would feel normal somewhere else.”

Alex's heart sinks hearing him talk like this. She understands he's just responding to all the trauma and neglect he's endured, but it doesn't make it any easier to hear.

“Your Mom would miss you an awful lot if you left,” Eltro says.

“Well, she could come with me. I guess.”

“I'd miss you.”

“You could come, too.”

“You know, my home planet was destroyed. So I grew up in space. On a starship. I never felt like I really fit anywhere, either.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. And the people that I was with when I was very young, well, most of them weren't very nice.”

“Oh?” Conner draws circles in the dirt with his toes as he dangles in the seat of the swing. It's obvious to Eltro that this child is a kindred spirit, and he's glad Conner came to this family sooner rather than later. He's got some first-hand experience in finding acceptance and love with the Danvers clan, and he hopes Conner will come to see that as well. And soon.

“Yeah, I didn't really have a family for a long time. I knew the people I came from…my parents, I mean, and I'm definitely better off here. I'm new, too, you know. To Earth and to this family, and it's the first place I've ever felt at home.”

“Really?”

“That's right. But it took a while. And your Mom, she's new to this, too. To being a family with you, I mean. She probably also needs a little time, to figure it all out.”

“Yeah, I see what you mean. Maybe I'll find a way to go to space later. Like next week. Or next year.”

“Good plan. And in the meantime, everyone is here to help you. Including me. Okay?”

“Okay. We can be the new Danvers kids together.”

“Definitely.”

“Thanks, Uncle Elt.”

“You're welcome.” He turns to hug Conner, and notices Alex out of the corner of his eye. The two of them turn to her as she gives Eltro a grateful, misty-eyed grin.

 _If I ever again hear anyone say a bad word about Daxamites, they're getting an earful. Or a fistful_ , she thinks.

Conner comes over and wraps his arms around Alex's waist. “Can we stay for dinner, Mommy? I'm hungry.”

 _Mommy. He called me Mommy_. Alex's heart nearly stops at the word, and her wide eyes meet Eltro's, who smiles broadly at her reaction.

When she regains the power of speech she says, “Sure, sweetie. I think Uncle Mon said it's taco night. Hope that's okay.”

Conner thinks it over for a moment and nods before running off to rejoin the game of tag.

They watch him go, and Eltro tentatively pats Alex's shoulder, as she unsuccessfully attempts to stave off a flood of joyful tears. She turns to him, glancing down at his hand on her shoulder, and rolls her weepy eyes as she pulls him into a proper bear hug.

“Thank you,” she sobs.

“Of course. We're family, right?”

“We sure are.”

*******

Jeremiah and Eliza show up with Clark and Lois just in time for dinner. Lois, now in her second trimester, happily lets Allie and Conner listen to her belly to hear the baby's heartbeat.

“Gotta be honest, I'm looking forward to having this crack team of super babysitters on call in a few years,” she says, mussing Conner's hair. He beams ear to ear at the prospect of that responsibility, and of having yet another powered friend to play with.

After a day of playtime, and dinner, and then a movie (Allie insisted on introducing her new cousin to Moana), Conner fell asleep on Alex's lap. So they all decided it was for the best to put him in the trundle bed in Allie's room and let Alex sleep on the couch. Eltro already had dibs on his old room in the basement.

When the children are all asleep at last, the adults sit around the kitchen table chatting.

“So what are you going to do about his education?” Eliza asks Alex.

“I'm not sure yet. Kara, I thought maybe I could talk to your mom about adding some special lessons just for him to the little holographic schoolhouse you all have been running at the DEO. At least for a while, until we can be sure it's safe to send him to a regular elementary school. That is, if that's even a possibility.” She sighs deeply, sinking into worry again.

“Hey, don't stress. You don't have to have everything figured out today,” Eliza soothes.

“I guess not. But it's always going to be hard for him. He knows he's not like other kids, that there's some things he just can't do.”

“Alex, all our kids are going to have that issue. Clark and I had it, too,” Kara reminds her sister.

“That's right,” Clark chimes in. “I couldn't be on a sports team, or play a musical instrument without breaking it, and of course dating was always, well, a challenge.” He and Lois look at each other with a bemused chuckle.

“Remember that time I broke Scott Klein's foot at the dance?” Kara adds.

“Yeesh, yeah I do.” Alex cringes at the thought.

“But…” Eliza interjects. “This child will be able to do many things other children can't. Extraordinary things. And he'll need your guidance. Honestly, given what he's been through, and what you've been through, I can see why Marsden picked you. You're already a wonderful mother, Alex. I'm very proud of you. We all are.”

“Really? That means a lot, mom.”

“Really, sweetheart. And don't forget we're all here for you.”

“For my part, I promise I'll be visiting Midvale more often. Possibly with a baby of my own in tow, but...I know I wasn't here enough for Kara when she was growing up. I'm sorry about that. But I hope I can make it up by spending more time with the next generation of Danverses,” Clark vows. Kara reaches across the table and squeezes his hand, smiling at him with misty eyes.

Just then, Allie emerges from her bedroom, and the Kryptonians and Daxamites in the room all notice a low rumbling sound coming from inside. Alarmed, Kara and Mon-El approach their daughter, as she marches straight past them toward Alex. She says nothing, but grabs for the grey sweatshirt Alex has left draped over the back of her chair. She then turns on her heel and calmly makes a beeline for her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

A moment later, the rumbling sound stops.

Baffled, Kara and Mon-El step toward their eldest child's door with Alex trailing just behind, and Kara raps gently on it. Allie answers, head peeking out with that look of mild annoyance children often give their parents when they're interrupted from something they deem important.

“What is it?” Allie asks them. “I'm trying to get back to sleep.”

“Honey, what was that all about?” Mon-El asks her.

“What was what all about?”

“Why did you take Aunt Alex's shirt, love?” Kara gently prods.

“Conner was having a bad dream. Whenever I have one I just find something to cuddle with that smells like you guys. Then I'm not scared and the bad dreams go away. So I gave him his mom's shirt and see? He's all better.”

Sure enough, Conner is snuggled up with the sweatshirt, looking as peaceful as an angel.

Alex pushes past her sister and brother in law and kneels down to hug her niece.

“You are one smart cookie, you know that?” she praises, shaking her head in awe.

“I know. And don't worry, Aunt Alex. Conner is gonna be fine. As long as he has you.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“I'm a smart cookie, remember?” Allie gives Alex a smug grin and kisses her on the cheek.

“That you are, sweetie. See you in the morning.”

Mon-El goes to tuck Allie back into bed, while Alex and Kara return to the kitchen. Everyone decides to call it a night, and Kara, Alex, Mon-El and Eltro say their goodbyes to Eliza, Jeremiah, Lois and Clark.

The couch isn't terribly comfortable, but Alex's exhaustion does her in and she's out like a light in minutes. She has her first solid night's sleep in what feels like ages, and wakes to the smell of bacon frying, with the sun shining through the windows and the floor in front of her littered with small people watching the Magic School Bus. Conner looks slightly confused, having little to no familiarity with school buses, but is enthralled nonetheless.

Alex just lays there on her side, watching him lovingly. And for the first time since he came into her life, she realizes her fears and anxieties about being his mother have ebbed. She senses a confidence forming in her gut. She feels it--in her heart, and in her bones--that the two of them really are going to be okay.

She tilts her head to see Kara standing in the doorway, mug in hand, watching Alex just as Alex has been watching Conner. They share a knowing smile, and Alex hauls herself up off the couch, dragging the sheets, pillow and blanket with her.

“It's a bright, shiny new day,” Kara says cheerfully to her sister, taking a sip of coffee as Alex trudges by to throw the bedding in the hamper and brush her teeth. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah,” Alex replies. “Yeah, I am.”


End file.
